A quarter of Brits can’t confidently boil an egg

Kitchen confidence is low in Britain, with a quarter of Brits not able to confidently boil an egg, new research from the UK’s leading recipe box service HelloFresh has found.

The survey, which involved 2,000 adults, found that Brits were most comfortable chopping an onion and baking a potato. More advanced kitchen skills were most problematic, with just 19% of Brits able to confidently butterfly meat. Almost three quarters struggle with julienne slicing and around two thirds have trouble peeling ginger.

This lack of kitchen confidence is having a knock-on effect on the types of meals Brits are rustling up. Brits feel most confident cooking tried-and-tested favourites from scratch without a recipe, such as sausages and mash, beans on toast and spaghetti bolognese. Chicken is the most common ingredient used when cooking at home, while cheese features in dishes more often than veggies like carrots and broccoli.

The average British chef’s mental cookbook contains fewer than six meals, with just four in 10 Brits knowing more than nine recipes. As a result, home cooks are rotating the same recipes each week, as their lack of kitchen confidence holds them back from cooking up new dishes.

49% of Brits would not describe themselves as a good cook, with 30% citing a lack of culinary education. A quarter said they weren’t a good cook because they lacked the confidence to try new recipes, while 21% admitted to cooking the same meals because they are afraid of getting new recipes wrong.

It seems British people are ready to expand their kitchen skills and confidence; 62% believe they would eat better if they knew how to cook more meals from scratch.

CEO of HelloFresh UK, Claire Davenport, commented: “Learning to cook new dishes can be easy with a little help. HelloFresh’s recipes are developed by our chefs, and are tried and tested so we know they work every time. Customers build on their culinary confidence – learning to cook over 150 recipes every year, using a variety of flavours from across the globe and easy-to-master cooking techniques.”

“We portion and pack all the fresh quality ingredients customers need, pop in step-by-step recipe cards and deliver everything to their door ready for them to cook and enjoy.”